In My Opinion

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Monday, March 21, 2011

It really irks me that I don't have access to my credit reports and scores anytime I want to see them. Sure, I can get the reports for free once a year and the scores once a year in some states for free also once a year. BUT why should I ever have to pay to see my own credit report and score? They are mine after all, right? Nobody had a hand in creating my own indebtedness and credit doings but me and maybe my spouse, unless there is a mistake on my report. I sure would like to have the FREE option of seeing my report always to see if there is anything wrong with it. Wouldn't you?

And guess what? The report and especially the score you receive for free or pay for is not the same as the creditor that you want to get credit from will see. They have access to a completely different scoring system than you see. It's true. Sometimes they will be as much as 25 to 50 pts lower and only occasionally they may be higher, though I haven't actually heard that in fact, only from what I have been told by someone I don't know.

I support a new system of credit reporting that is true and factual and the consumer has the right to view whenever he has the urge to do so. It should be played on the same playing field that the creditor plays on. There's nothing like going to apply for credit on a new car and after getting my credit score and report online from some company like trans-union, experian or equifax and being told you are turned down because your score isn't high enough when you just saw it and know the score they quote to you at the dealer (if they even divulge it to you) is quite different than what you just paid $14.95 a month to monitor because you wanted to check it once and got sucked into their credit monitoring program.

Until something changes someday, everybody will have to put up with being a slave to the big three and let somebody else own your credit report and score and you will have to pay to see it and be have to maneuver through red tape and loopholes to make sure it stays accurate.